


There's a Word for You

by StolenSpark



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alpha Robin Buckley, Alpha Steve Harrington, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Omega Billy Hargrove, depends on either how i feel or if people actually like this, i might continue this, i wrote this because sometimes life sucks, i'll add more tags later in that case, steve's parents are nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28424892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StolenSpark/pseuds/StolenSpark
Summary: On one of Billy's final shifts at Hawkins' local grocery store, he's insulted by an aggressive customer
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	There's a Word for You

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i know it's been forever since the last time i posted something. i'm sorry for that! but enjoy this thing it's based on true events. also i have a head cannon that billy's love language is physical touch. also this is heavily unbeta'd

For the most part, Billy enjoys his job at _Leah’s_ , Hawkins’ local grocery store, especially when he closes. If there’s one thing he’s going to miss in a few days when he leaves to stay for six months with an aunt in California, it’s his coworkers and the list of regular customers he’s managed to acquire during his time there. He chats with his regular customers as they come through his lane, doodling on the sketchbook laid out on the counter behind the register while he waits between customers.

Steve and Robin stop by for a couple minutes after they clock in for their shifts to chat with him before heading off to do their own tasks. Every so often, the Alphas return to the register to talk some more with him.

Around eleven-thirty, Billy’s manager has gone off to do his one thing, which the Omega finds frustrating but he’s used to it at this point, and he kills time by scrolling through TikTok and drawing. Less than a minute later, an older man comes through the lane. He’s an Alpha and maybe in his fifties or sixties. He’s also not wearing a mask, but Billy doesn’t get paid enough to care so he lets it slide. “Hello,” he says, smiling even though the man can’t see it. “Didja find everything alright?”

“Speak up,” the man grunts, unloading only half of the items in his cart.

Billy repeats himself slightly louder than how he usually talks to customers.

“I told you to speak up, sweetheart,” irritation is beginning to seep into the Alpha’s voice. “Played in a rock band all my life. Between that and these masks, my hearing is shit.”

The blonde pulls down the bandana he’s wearing just low enough so that the man can read his lips and repeats his question again. This seems to work and Billy continues to ring up the customer. The man grows more aggressive as the transaction progresses, interrupting Billy’s attempts to talk with various jabs at how the Omega isn’t speaking loud enough. The customer opts for cashback, selecting the necessary options as the pin pad prompts him. When Billy cautiously tells him that the system is giving him an error message due to insufficient funds, the customer grows louder, grumbling and swearing. Billy grows increasingly uncomfortable with the situation, especially when the man knocks one of the bagging racks off of its stand in his aggression. He goes to help the customer, but his instincts tell him to back off.

He moves away from the customer and practically glues himself to the furthest corner of the register. The customer puts the three small bags of ice sitting in his cart into bags, but it’s when he’s beginning to bag the water bottles, which are also in the cart, that he addresses Billy. “Didn’t they teach you customer service?” he asks.

“Um…” Unsure of how to respond to that question, Billy toys with the saint medallion dangling from his neck.

The customer repeats his question, accompanied by more aggressive goading at Billy not speaking up.

“Um… a little…?”

“Oh, a little, huh?” the man hounds. “You know, in customer service training they teach you important skills like speaking up and, y’know, actually doing your damn job.”

“I’m sorry,” Billy takes a step forward, but the customer waves him off.

“But what did I expect from someone like you?” the man continues as he heads towards the exit, growing even louder. “I suggest you work on your customer service skills, but if you wanna fuck up your future, go ahead! It’s _only_ your career. I’ve chosen my career!”

Billy stares after the man, dumbfounded. There’s something about the man that reminds the blonde of Neil. It’s probably the way he talks to him, as if Billy is beneath him just for being an Omega.

The customer pauses in the doorway, just long enough to say, “There’s a word in the dictionary for you, sweetheart. It’s called ‘worthless’. Look it up.”

The words don’t roll easily off Billy’s shoulders, and it makes him think of Neil. Even though he knows that the man is finally rotting in prison thanks to Hopper’s efforts, the customer’s face is replaced with his father’s in his mind’s eye, and a small sob escapes him, the tears he’d been trying so hard to fight back finally spilling over.

“Don’t let him get to you,” another customer says, approaching the register. “How old are you, kid?”

“Seventeen,” Billy sniffles, too humiliated to care that he was full on sobbing in front of the customer.

He smiles at Billy. “See, you have your whole life ahead of you. I only heard the tail end of what he said to you, but Alphas like that are assholes, think they have all the power simply because of their status. You’re friends with my Heather, right?”

“Yeah,” Billy wipes at his eyes and nose.

“She talks about you all the time. You’re a good kid, Hargrove.”

Billy thanks the man through his tears and hands him his purchase. Robin comes through the lane a few minutes later, when Billy is trying desperately to dry the tears streaming down his face. He’s crying so hard at this point that he can barely say _no_ when the Alpha asks if he wants to talk about whatever has him so upset. She nods and offers to go get Steve. Steve quickly comes up to the front, frowning when Billy looks up at him, chest heaving with silent sobs. “Awe, baby,” he mutters, pulling the blonde into a hug, the scent of cinnamon filling the air and slowly beginning to calm Billy down. “What happened?”

“He sounded like Neil,” Billy admits, when he’s calm enough to speak. “He said I was worthless.”

“I’m sorry, _what_?” the question comes out as a snarl. “You’re not worthless, you know that, right?”

Billy nods, slowly.

They spend the remainder of Billy’s shift sitting on the floor behind the register, Steve doing most of the talking, stroking patterns on Billy’s forearms and hands. “Do you want to stay at mine tonight? We can watch movies or something when I get off. How does that sound?”

“Alright,” he says, a small smile making its way across his face.

“Good,” Steve gets up with Billy to let him out of the store. “I’ll see you in a couple hours, baby,” he says, pecking the blonde on the forehead.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> like i stated before, this is based on true events. it happened to me last night, actually. i kept the dialogue pretty much the same (expect for billy's conversations with heather's dad and steve). i cried for pretty much the rest of my shift after that


End file.
